Edward Stratemeyer

“ It was raining furiously when Tung-Chow, a suburb of Pekin, was gained by the battalion to which Gilbert belonged. The road beside the canal was knee-deep in water and mud; and everybody was low in spirits, and almost ready to drop with exhaustion.
“It’s the worst campaign I’ve ever seen,” said one English officer to the acting captain of Company A. “We hadn’t anything in South Africa to compare with it, or anything in Egypt, either,” he added.
“We are at a disadvantage here,” answered Gilbert. “Only a few of our transports have arrived, and we lack both men and supplies.” ”

“ Gilbert now found himself confronted by two Chinese soldiers, each of whom took aim at him as soon as he showed himself. Before the men could fire, one was knocked over by a bullet from the rear. The second, however, pulled trigger directly on Gilbert’s breast; and the bullet scraped the young lieutenant’s ribs so deeply that the blood flowed through his shirt.
“You are shot!” cried Captain Banner. “Better go to the rear.”
“Not yet!” was Gilbert’s answer. “Come on, boys! The gun will soon be ours!” ”

“ Gilbert Pennington had been in many close quarters before, and these had taught him the valuable lesson of being on his guard at all times.
Consequently, when the two rebels faced him, they found him with pistol drawn, and, before either of the enemy could fire, the young lieutenant blazed away. He shot to kill, knowing only too well that his life hung in the balance; and the rebel with the pistol went down, with a bullet in his breast, seriously, if not mortally, wounded. The Filipino’s weapon went off as he fell, but the bullet spent itself in the air above the little jungle. ”

“ What struck Gilbert as peculiar on his first trip beyond Tongku were the numerous mounds which greeted his eyes, rearing their heads like so many ant-hills at every turn. He soon learned, however, that these were the well-known graves of China, scattered broadcast. In some cases these graves are deeply dug; but in others the dead are placed along the roadside, and covered only with a handful of earth or a bit of coarse matting.
The young lieutenant’s duties at Tongku kept him close to the river front ”

“ Only with the greatest of difficulty did Nuggy Polk manage to rise to his feet. Then he lurched up against Gilbert, took a plunge, and hit the pony in the ribs. The animal turned, bumped roughly against the young man, and Polk measured his length on the ground.
“Whoa, you rascal!” spluttered the fallen one. “Lieutenant, he’s worse than the team. I can’t ride him nohow.”
At this juncture a rumble of cart wheels was heard, and soon a native turnout hove in sight, drawn by a pair of caribaos. A sleepy Tagal sat on the seat.
Stopping the cart, Gilbert inquired if the Tagal was bound for Manila. ”

“ The young lieutenant felt that he was now face to face with a deadly enemy, and it must be confessed that the cold perspiration stood out on his forehead. It is one thing to face an enemy in the open: it is quite another to face the same enemy in the dark. Gilbert had heard of bad Western men sometimes fighting a duel to the death with knives in a pitch-dark room, and he felt now that he wanted nothing to do with anything so terrible. ”

“ My belief is that this war won’t amount to shucks.”
“Exactly my idea,” broke in Jerry Nickerson. “The soldiers will go there and relieve the ministers, and that will be the end of it. No foreign power will dare to make war on China because of the other powers.”
“I am of the opinion that the war is already on around Taku and Tien-Tsin,” answered Gilbert. “The forts at the mouth of the Pei-Ho have been taken, and that will probably madden the Chinese beyond endurance.”
“Humph! A good deal of that is all talk,” said Nuggy Polk. ”

“ The move was a providential one; for hardly were the party seated around the table which the Chinese servant had spread when there came a low and sudden whine, as of something in deadly pain, and a shell burst directly in the top of a tree growing in the centre of the garden. The report was followed by a shower of small branches and leaves, and then it was seen that the tree had been split in twain almost from top to bottom.
“Creation! but that was close!” cried Gilbert; while Jennie Bartlett shrieked from fright. Then the young lieutenant looked at the split tree. “Get out of the way!” ”

“ It must be confessed that Gilbert’s heart beat quickly, for the Chinese could be seen at a distance, shouting and screaming and waving innumerable banners; for to the Celestials banners seem almost as necessary as guns. Then came a sudden cracking of rifles, and a volley of bullets passed over the Americans’ heads.
“Take aim! Fire!” came the order; and the long line of rifles flashed forth and many a Boxer was seen to topple over, to rise no more. Each regular was a trained marksman, and shot to kill. ”

“ He has been in both the army and the navy, and he virtually knows nothing else. He would rather fight than eat, and nothing would suit him better than for the United States to start out on a world-conquering tour. He told me yesterday that he hoped we should keep on fighting in China for at least a year.”
“A year!” cried Gilbert. “Well, I don’t agree with him. I trust we have only one or two good battles, and that the Chinese then come to terms. I am afraid it would make me sick to fight the pig-tails for a whole year. I was heartily tired of fighting the Filipinos when I left Manila.” ”

“ By this time both the American and French soldiers were ranging along the Pei-Ho, and the scattering of the Boxers brought on their doom. One detachment fell into the hands of the Frenchmen, and were killed almost to a man; while the other—by far the larger detachment—ran into the arms of the other companies of Major Morris’s battalion. A fierce rough-and-tumble fight ensued, the most of it on the American side falling to Company C; and then the Boxers leaped into the stream to swim for the other shore. At least twenty were laid low on land, and as many more killed or wounded in the water. ”

“ The walk was one not easily to be forgotten; for the dead Chinese still lay everywhere, the corpses being continually turned over by the savage “chow” dogs, who would growl fiercely at the approach of man. There was small use in trying to kill these dogs, for they numbered into the thousands.
Arriving in the neighborhood for which he had been bound, the first thing that caught Gilbert’s eye was the ruins of the great warehouse which had before been damaged by fire. It was now burnt to the ground, and the broken tea-boxes lay in all directions with the tea stamped in the mud of the roadway. ”

“ Laying the dead body of the Buddhist priest in the court-yard of the joss house, Gilbert and his men covered it with a matting and some loose stones, that the dogs might not get at it, and then hurried back to the headquarters of the first battalion.
Both Major Morris and Captain Banner were delighted to see the young lieutenant back safe and sound, and all were eager to learn the particulars of his thrilling experience.
“You have had a narrow escape, Pennington,” said the major. “You must be more careful of yourself in the future. We have already lost officers enough.” ”

“ But it must be remembered that Gilbert had served in Cuba with the Rough Riders, and in the Philippines under General MacArthur and General Lawton, and that he took to army service as naturally as a duck takes to water. He was one of those soldiers of whom Grant declared, “They are born, those fellows, not made.”
The campaign in China has been as short as it was brilliant; and, with Earl Li Hung Chang and others empowered to treat for peace upon almost any terms, it is to be hoped that a permanent settlement will be made, which will insure both foreigners and China against all further trouble. ”

“ And this he did; and other men, who were strictly honest, came to the head of the concern.
“We owe you a great deal, Lieutenant Pennington,” said Amos Bartlett one day, when Gilbert was calling at the home in Tien-Tsin. “You are a smart young man.”
“And a good soldier, too,” put in Mrs. Bartlett.
“Yes, and the best of it is that he is one of our American soldiers,” put in Jennie. “I believe all our American soldiers are brave.”
At this Gilbert felt compelled to smile. “If they are not, they ought to be,” he answered. “It’s an honor to fight for Uncle Sam.” ”

“ At these words Amos Bartlett stared again at Gilbert. Then his eyes fell. “You are sure of this? Sure he cannot make me a beggar?” he muttered.
“Yes, I am sure.”
“And that fire? The warehouse was full of valuable tea. They will not let me get up to see how much damage was done.”
“The main warehouse was not touched, so your loss will not be heavy. Just take it easy for a week or so, and everything will straighten itself out. I have got Polk where I want him, and I know what I am doing.”
“Thank you, Pennington. You are a wonderful young man. And we shall not be beggars! ”

“ In reality, the standing army is much smaller; for each viceroy of a province keeps as many troops as suits him. The army is made up of the very scum of China, and a soldier is an object of ridicule to the ordinary merchant or artisan.”
“I’ve heard that many Chinese officers go to war in their robes.”
“They do more than that,” put in an officer standing near. “They take their big umbrellas as well, and on many a battlefield the head officers have sat [110] in the rear having tea served to them while the fighting was going on. ”

“ He is a bother, and in the way.”
“It is not always so easy to force a man out of a thing,—especially if he knows what a good thing it is.”
“I will do the trick,” said Nuggy Polk, with a wink. “Trust me to work any deal that is to my advantage.”
At this moment came an order from Captain Banner for company drill, and Gilbert had to leave the pair. No sooner had he gone than Jerry Nickerson said in a low tone, “Nuggy, I wouldn’t be so free about talking over private affairs with an outsider.” ”

“ The weather was most disagreeable. When it was not raining, the sun shone down with the fury of a fiery furnace; and, during the middle of the day, [203] working at anything was out of the question for all but the Japanese, who never seemed to mind the heat in the least. What these little men from the Mikado’s domain could do and endure was a constant source of wonder and astonishment to the rest of the Allies. “They are the backbone of this whole movement,” said Gilbert; and Major Morris agreed with him.
“They used to jeer at the Japanese, just as they jeer at the Chinese,” said the major. ”

“ The anti-foreign feeling had been strong; and now, as the Chinese saw the Europeans gradually closing down upon them, with here and there a number of Americans as well, the feeling against the “foreign devils”—as all people of white skin are called—grew hotter and hotter.
The missionaries were the first to feel the pressure brought to bear by the Boxers, who, in secret conclave, determined that all foreigners must either be driven from the country or slain. ”

“ Shortly after Gilbert and the Bartletts had obtained Nuggy Polk’s confession, the young lieutenant was ordered to Taku, to take charge of some goods which were arriving by transport. He journeyed by rail from Tien-Tsin to Tongku, and was glad to note that the country was now free from Boxers and Chinese troops, and that the natives were going to work again, almost as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“This campaign is about over,” he reasoned. “The Chinese have been taught a lesson; and they’ll be only too glad to negotiate, through Li Hung Chang, for peace.” ”

“ And yet all felt that the advance upon Pekin must be made as soon as possible. The foreigners congregated in the compound of the British legation were being subjected to a constant bombardment by the Boxers and Chinese troops; and, if the legation fell, it was certain that every man, woman, and child would be killed, and perhaps horribly tortured. Four hundred and fifteen people were pent up in the compound; and it was being defended by three hundred and four marines and eighty-five volunteers, all under the general command of Captain Poole, of the British army. ”

“ Saluting, Stummer did so; and at this the Russian looked relieved. He could speak sufficient German to make himself understood; and, through the private, Gilbert learned that the Russian body at the wood numbered about three hundred. Over two thousand Boxers were in front of the Russians, and the latter were on their way to use the embankment as a cover.
“We have over four hundred men,” answered Gilbert, through Carl. “I will inform my superior of the state of affairs, and he will most likely come to your aid. Will you hold the embankment if we skirt the wood and come up on the other side?” ”